26 Letters
by IvoryDrum
Summary: A series of unrelated drabbles inspired by the 2k3 series. Next up, "S is for Subway". Summary: "They've watched, felt, and heard hundreds of trains go by, but they've never ridden one."
1. A is for Apple

I've realized that the majority of the fictions I write are humor based. I want to try to expand my horizons. To do so, I've decided to issue a 26 Letter challenge to myself. I'm going to be writing a series of unrelated drabbles/short-fics based on the letters of the alphabet. Some will be ridiculous, of course, because _I'm _ridiculous (and I think some of you like me best that way), but I'm hoping that most will have an edge of seriousness to them.

**Disclaime**r**:** Today, I own not the turtles. MLIA.

* * *

**A is for Apple:**

Donnie always told Raph that he needed to eat better. Less starch, more fiber, high protein meals and three glasses of milk, cut down on the empty carbs and salt consumption. There wasn't a single meal (with the exception of breakfast because Donatello was _not _morning turtles and no, he did _not_ want to make an effort at conversation immediately upon waking) in which Donnie could be kept from hounding everyone about his dietary habits.

It was getting annoying, especially considering that Donnie didn't exactly have the best diet himself. Coffee and whatever else someone, usually Leo or Mikey, decided to shove down his throat couldn't be anymore nutritious then a glass of Orange Juice and a big bowl of Wheaties, in Raph's opinion.

Despite all that he knew, spanning from the mundane to the extraordinary, Donnie managed to be pretty stupid about everyday things, like remembering to eat. This whole "get everyone to eat according to the food pyramid" adventure was turning Donatello into a hypocrite, but Raph didn't mind. He figured that it kept Donnie from becoming the mad scientist that Baxter Stockman was.

Today Don had corned him after practice and commensed telling him about the food pyramid and how many serving of fruit he should be getting every, single, day. After only a few minutes of babble, Donnie had left him with a cheeky grin and, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away Raphie!"

Raph knew this, of course. That saying was as old as dirt, maybe older. But the only doctor the turtles had was Donnie, and Raph didn't want to keep him away.

* * *

Give me sign yo, give me a sign! AKA review yo, review! Please.


	2. B is for Babe

I didn't get any reviews for my first chapter of this little escapade, and to be perfectly honest, that kinda sucks. But, this is life. I won't stop uploading just because I didn't get any reviews.

Now that I'm finished whining like a five year old....

**Disclaimer: **Today, I jumped a bike off a curb for the first time in two months, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

This is my first attempt at writing the infamous Casey Jones. It's kind of a big deal (not really). Casey/April, totes obvs.

* * *

**B is for Bab****e: **

We've been engaged for a whole year now, plus the two years we were goin' steady before I got the balls ta ask 'er to marry me, an' she still gets mad when I call 'er babe. I don't mean it to be rude or nothin', honest! Its just cause I love 'er. I look at 'er and I wanna protect 'er. I wanna see 'er smile and hear 'er giggle and pet 'er hair and hug 'er tight to me because I like the way our bodies fit together. When I'm around 'er I feel like a different guy-like I'm more than some punk in a hokey mask that jumps rooftops and hangs around with some little green dudes. I feel like I'm the only one for 'er and she's the only one for me, and damn if it doesn't sound mushy as all get out but it's about as honest as a guy like me can be. I only call 'er babe cause I love 'er and I want everyone to know it. Damn.

How is it that writing these wedding vows is so hard when lovin' her is so easy?

* * *

Did I do well with Casey? Sometimes I just don't know with that guy. Please review!


	3. C is for Colleagues

So I feel pretty terrible about whining about not receiving any reviews. I'm sorry. That was very immature of me and it won't happen again!

That being said, I very much appreciate the people who reviewed! I'm being completely honest in saying that seeing those review alerts in my inbox really brightens my day!

**Disclaimer: **Today, I played soccer for the first time in four years with a bunch of guys that all happen to be bigger than me. One of them tripped and accidently head-butted me in the hip (yay for forehead shapped bruises!), and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

This is a story of firsts, it would seem! My first attempt at being serious, my first attempt at writing Casey Jones, and now my first attempt at writing Stockman! Whoa man!

* * *

**C is for Colleagues****:**

Had he been born human, rather than the mutated turtle that he was, Donatello could have been his colleague, his peer or his partner. He could have attended an Ivy League school with a full scholarship, and beaten out countless other hopefuls for the best internships and research positions. Donatello could have improved the world one invention at a time. He could have received substantial funding for his various and highly anticipated projects. Nations could have commission him to create security programs for their top-secret databases while simultaneously teaching them how to drastically reduce their carbon emissions. He could have received numerous accolades, grants, and opportunities.

People would have spoken his name in awe.

Stockman would have taken him under his wing and created a company with him. StockDonat would flourish, and lesser men would marvel at its success.

Stockman likes to think that, even in this other world, he would still be the most brilliant between the two of them. That he would receive the most accolades, produce the most efficient technology, find the most cures, help the most people. He likes to think that, in this other world, he wouldn't become what he has, would still hold the respect of his peers, would never have to exceed unattainable expectations.

In this other world, it doesn't hurt when he's wrong.

* * *

Confession time....My original word for "C" was "Cousins", and it was going to be some sort of moody Leatherhead musing. That obviously didn't pan out. Didn't even write a draft for it! I know that this isn't a side of Stockman that we usually see, but I very much believe that it is a side he possesses.

Please review? Can I has love?


	4. D is for Drive

I've decided that the letter D is not my favorite letter, just in case you were wondering. I'm assuming that you weren't, but I don't know what you think. If I did, that would be really creepy.

Thank you for the fabulous reviews! They bring me great joy (and love, thank you for letting me has love)!

**Disclaimer: **Today while watching a video about child development in my Psychology class, I noticed that one of the little boys was wearing a TMNT sweatshirt. I got a little too excited, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

D is for Drive:

Splinter never thought to teach his Turtles how to drive. In addition to the fact that Splinter didn't know how to drive, such lessons just didn't seem necessary, or practical. He didn't plan for the possibility that one of his sons would be a genius with a special affinity for machines, or that the Turtles' first solo trip to the surface would end in the family acquiring a vehicle.

How foolish of him to think that his sons wouldn't want to take part in a ritual that the teenagers depicted in his stories seemed to cherish so.

He decided to let Donatello modify the truck.

It was the closest thing to normal that he could give them.

* * *

Another confession....the word for D was originally "Dirty". Yeah. I can't even begin to tell you what it would have been about. Also, I didn't really want to write this one, but I'm so excited for "E" and absolutely determined to do these in order that I simply could not wait!

Please review? I'm legit not sure about this one.


	5. E is for Elevator

I'm sorry for the terrible delay with this guys, but, unfortunately, college happens. I got slammed with a number of things and was unable to write out a drabble until a few days ago. But then, turtle lover luck true to form, wouldn't let me upload. I tried on a whim today and low and behold, success!

**Disclaimer: **The other day I got stuck in the tiny 4X5 elevator of my dorm (The Hellavator) with eight other people for two hours, and, after all that, I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

E is for Elevator:

The turtles know that a mission has taken a turn for the desperate when Leo herds them all into an elevator. Elevators give Leo options that air ducts and hallways and open spaces can't offer.

Leo loves elevators.

Whenever Mikey steps, or rolls, or leaps, or flips, or runs, or throws himself into elevators, he inadvertently takes the opportunity to look at his brothers. They usually look like they're tired and hurting, and Mikey doesn't want his potentially last look at them to be like that. He tilts his head downwards and pretends to be catching his breath.

Mikey hates elevators.

* * *

Believe it or not, I had thought of using the word "elevator" for "E" long before I got stuck in one. Also, all of my Disclaimers are true. I really did get stuck in an elevator for two hours. Spirits were high for about 45 minutes, and we sang (quite loudly) at first, but as we got closer to the 1 hour mark we settled down considerably. Interestingly enough, it didn't seem like we were in there for 2 hours at all.

Please review!


	6. F is for Fifteen to Fifty

Oh hey there relatively quick update, how you doin'? I have nothing to say for this except that my Spring Break is next week and I am ready to the point of the ridiculous. On that note, I have a few TMNT related projects on my Spring Break to-do list, so be looking for some new stuff!

**Disclaimer:** Today, I hit myself decently hard on the elbow with my racquet while returning a shot in racquetball. My elbow is three more colors then it was yesterday, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

Fifteen (to Fifty):

The year that the Turtles turned fifteen was the eleventh year of their ninjutsu training. The year that the Turtles turned fifteen was the year during which they were forced to use their skills to defend themselves, and chose to use them to protect others. It was in that year that they found two powerful enemies in the Purple Dragons and the Foot, and, for the first time, began to come home with injuries that required more than an ice pack and Ace wrap. They were fifteen when Leo, _Leo,_ had almost died, _should _have died.

It was a wakeup call. They'd been lucky.

Sometimes, when all four of them are nursing bruises and other miscellaneous ouches, the Turtles try to imagine what they'll be doing in the future. Mikey has seen himself as old as twenty-seven, Don as old as twenty-five. Before things had gotten really crazy, before the Dragons and the Foot had actively started to seek them out and do them harm, Raph had been so bold as to say thirty, but now he puts himself at a solid twenty-four. Leo has never offered an age, won't offer an age, but the others put him at twenty-four, the same as Raph. They tried once to imagine what they'll be like at fifty, what they'll be doing or whom they'll be fighting, what new enemies or allies they'll make, but none of them could think of anything.

None of them thought that they would live that long.

* * *

I am actually really fond of this one. So fond, in fact, that it may have replaced "Colleagues" as my favorite. That's kind of a big deal.

Please review!


	7. G is for Gates

I decided to try my hand at poetry. Geez oh man (points to whoever gets that literary reference). This isn't really formatting how I want it to, but I don't know how to change it. My apologies in advance.

**Disclaimer:** Today in my philosophy class I wrote this poem instead of listening to my teacher discuss the possible creation of three additional gender categories, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

G is for Gates:

Don't open the gates

Don't take me in

It's my turn

I'm not ready.

Don't open the gates

_ God please!_

Don't take me in

It's my turn

I'm not ready.

Don't open the gates

_ How could this happen? _

Don't take me in

_ God please! _

It's my turn

I'm not ready.

Don't open the gates

_ I should go before you. _

Don't take me in

_ How could this happen?_

It's my turn

_ God please!_

I'm not ready.

Don't open the gates

_ You can't you promised!_

Don't take me in

_ I should go before you. _

It's my turn

_ How could this happen?_

I'm not ready.

_ God please!_

Don't open the gates

_ Please you promised I should how could you go I before you God this can't happen. _

I'm not ready.

* * *

In my head, Leo is the one that's not ready, Raph is "God please", Donnie is "How could this happen", Mikey is "You can't you promised", and Splinter is "I should go before you." This is kind of angsty, especially for me. It probably stems from how annoying philosophy was today.

I don't typically attempt poetry, so y'all's feedback and critiques would be very much appreciated! I wonder, do you see what I was trying to do?


	8. H is for Hands

The letter H was on of the first letters to get a word. I think A was the first.

Anyway, I'd just like to give a special thank you to everyone that has reviewed this story. I know you've heard this before, but I really do appreciate it and it still excites me to see a review in my inbox.

**Disclaimer: **Today I started the process of officially declaring my major. I realized that, since my major has absolutely nothing to do with the Ninja Turtles, I have further diminished my chances of owning them in this lifetime. M(college)LIA.

* * *

H is for Hands:

Their hands don't fit well together. It makes situations like this a little stressful.

Apparently, even the heaviest of the ninja turtles can bounce just enough to go over the low edge of a roof.

None of the Turtles really believe in God, but whenever something like this happens, they all find themselves thinking, "_Please, please, please, God, please just let me-"_

Then Leo is squeezing his hand so hard he swears his fingers are going to break and he'll let go and just fall, fall, fall until he lands. They're high up, and he wonders if he'd ever hit the ground. He keeps waiting for Don to start telling him about the law of gravity, but then he remembers that Don is on the solid ground of the roof fighting for his life.

He doesn't like that he isn't available to watch his back, he doesn't like that he was the only one to fall off the roof, and he especially doesn't like the strain that's evident on Leo's face. Leo is strong, but not as strong as he is. Suspending him must be incredibly difficult.

Their hands are slick with sweat and he can feel himself slipping.

Leo grips him tighter and swears through clenched teeth. If they had a couple more digits- Donnie sometimes go off about homologous structures and how normal turtles have five claws so why don't they have five fingers and blah, blah, blah- but they don't have more digits, and this whole situation is really starting to suck. Then there's a familiar nunchaku in his face and a voice saying, "Grab the 'chuck bro!", and even though his hands are big and kinda awkward and missing a couple of digits, they do a good enough job of grabbing the 'chuck.

After he's been pulled up and over the ledge by a very haggard looking Leo and a grinning Mikey, he finds himself thinking that he likes his hands and homologous structures and evolution can kiss his mutated ass.

* * *

This one simultaneously pleases me and upsets me. This wasn't the original concept, but it's so frustratingly close to the original that I can't help but like it. Like, homologous structures? Yeah, that wasn't originally in there (it's true though, according to evolution the Turtles should have five fingers). It's up there on my favorite list, fo' sho' fo sho'. I've realized that I write in a different style from my norm when I write from this perspective, and I think I like it.

Review please!


	9. I is for Inheritance

Golly it's been a while. The letter "I" was really difficult for me, but only because I was too darn stubborn (us April babies have hard heads) to change the word from "inheritance" to something less tricky, like, I dunno, "incognito." That and I really wanted this to be about April. My sincere apologies.

That being said, **I can take absolutely no credit** for the first sentence of this chapter. The phrase, "I've spent my life inheriting dreams from you" comes from the song _Pacienca y Fe _from the broadway musical, _In the Heights_, of which **I do not own.**

**Disclaimer:** Today, I picked up my first paycheck from work. I did the obligatory I GOTS MON-AY dance all the way back to my car, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

I is for Inheritance:

I spent my life inheriting dreams from you. Really, my life. All I ever heard was, 'April's going to win the spelling bee, April's going to be a National Merit Scholar, April is going to attend a prestigious university, April is going to provide for us when we get older.'

But you never got older, and I've never had to provide for anyone but myself. It was because of _your _dreams that _I _fought for the best internship imaginable, and even though I nearly _died_ because of it, I still lie awake a night thinking about how disappointed you must be that I'm not following the fantasy path that you created for me.

All I have now is the store, and thousands in debt from student loans, and you can't help me with either of those things because you aren't here, and I haven't met anyone who's got an answer for my _only_ question.

How do I cash in on the spent dreams of my dead parents?

* * *

A lot of people say that they have difficulty writing Splinter, whereas I have trouble with April. The writers of the show gave her a very protective yet sweet personality, but I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't be bitter about the way her life has gone. I'm not saying she's bitter about meeting the turtles of course, but really? Her parents are dead, she almost died at her place of work, and now she has this antique shop that can't be drawing in much money.

Anyway, please review! I'm not totally happy with this one, but it was way past due and I couldn't just skip to "J".


	10. J is for Juvi

Summer is almost over, can you believe it? I just spent a wonderful ten days in a place where there is no internet or phone service of any kind. It was very relaxing, and I churned out chapters J and K before getting stuck on L. I don't know how this chapter got to be about Casey, but I like it. My only regret is not giving Mrs. Jones a bigger role, cause she's pretty BAMF.

Juvi = Juvenile Detention Center = jail for adolescents.

**Disclaimer: **Today, I may or may not be playing in a recital that I haven't had any time to prepare for, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

J is for Juvi:

When Raph had first thought of bringing Casey down to the lair, the Turtles decided to conduct a background check. It came out like this:

When Casey Jones was ten his father failed to pay "protection money " to the Purple Dragons. The Jones' family store was consequently burned and destroyed as per the orders of Hun, a PD higher-up. The Jones' never managed to rebuild the store.

A few years after the incident, Mr. Jones died of complications due to pneumonia. Casey was thirteen.

Suddenly, Casey became The Kid Without No Daddy, and nothing was right, and nothing was fair, and everything was bad, bad, bad, and he developed tight fists and stringy muscles and he used them.

By the age of fourteen Casey Arnold Jones was taking down stray Purple Dragons and other assorted scum with excessive force. He was perpetually black and blue and bloody, but he was The Kid Without No Daddy and nobody said anything.

When Casey was fifteen the police caught him beating a thug in an alley. They saw black and blue and bloody and Victim With No Weapon and Kid Without No Daddy and a single mother that couldn't afford a trial. They saw fresh meat, white meat, dead meat, and quotas met.

Casey got his ass through into juvi because he got caught wailing on a guy who liked to target old women, young girls, and the occasional little boy.

The Turtles decided that Casey didn't do anything wrong, so Donnie made his record disappear.

* * *

Okay, hear me out. Casey is a great guy, yes, but before he met Raph he was out of control. There is no way that he didn't run into some sort of trouble when he was a kid.

Please review! I would love to hear your thoughts on this.


	11. K is for Knives

Look how quickly I got this chapter up! Marvel at the quickness, marvel! It probably won't happen again. I have an idea for "L" but it's not yet tangible. I hope to get that chapter up before I go back to school.

**Disclaimer: **Yesterday my Dad and I applied to compete on Wipeout, father/daughter edition, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and mi padre! We really want to be on Wipeout! We watch the show together and strategize.

* * *

K is for Knives:

Donnie is really good at throwing knives and other assorted projectiles. His brothers think that it has something to do with his being a super genius and having the ability to calculate distance, angle, trajectory, and force all within the span of about .25 seconds.

To put it simply, the purple-clad turtle oozes accuracy.

Most of the time Leo has to try really hard not to be jealous of Don's perfect aim. After all, Leo is the oldest and most disciplined of the Four, and as such it is his duty to encourage his brother's strengths, not begrudge them.

Sometimes, though, none of that disciplined, encouraging older brother crap matters. Like when Leo is doing target practice and Donnie is geeking out with April? Leo gets aggravated, and for the rest of the session the knives don't fly straight.

* * *

I like this one, even though it's really short. I think that each turtle has a skill set in which they excell. Don, I imagine, is not only good at projectiles, but also at stealth and re-con. Just a thought.

Please review!


	12. L is for Limp

Welp, I'm back at school. I was missing my college friends, but I was not missing the college workload. Between all the reading and writing that my majors (don't ask me why I want two, I don't know, it seemed like _such_ a good idea when I declared) require, _26 Letters_ had to take a definite back seat. I felt terrible about it, but school comes first- always.

Well, maybe not _alway_s always. I should be doing my Spanish work right now, but that's obviously not happening.

**Disclaimer: **Today I realized that I'm exceptionally good at naming cars. If college doesn't work out, I can go door-to-door and help people form a more intimate relationship with their vehicle, but still won't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

L is for Limp:

Splinter walks with a limp.

He didn't used to.

The Turtles don't like to talk about It. Talking about It makes It too real. Talking about It reminds them that they failed, and It reminds them that he's old, and that, one day, in maybe just a few more years, Splinter will be gone and then there will be nothing.

Nothing.

They pretend not to have adapted themselves to the altered sounds of Splinter's steps. They pretend not to hear the _very slight_ shuffle in their Sensei's walk, and the sharp intake of breath when he plants the paw that was broken so ruthlessly.

He had been too slow.

Splinter walks with a limp, and he can't sneak up on them anymore.

The Turtles pretend to be startled anyway.

* * *

Aannnggssstttttt? I've never understood why Splinter walks with a cane. I know that he uses it to meet his impromptu weapons needs, but he doesn't seem to use it for any sort of support. Weirdo.

Please review!


	13. M is for Monster

Okay, you caught me. The only reason M is for Monster is because it's the day before Halloween. If the timing were different, the word for M would have been Manipulate. Maybe I should have a "26 Letters, Outtakes and Alternatives" story. Thoughts?

Disclaimer: Today I discovered that my spring semester schedule is in crisis. I got wait-listed for a class and now have 13 credits instead of 17. There are two ways of fixing it, and both are sketch. M(college)LI(unfortunately)A.

* * *

M is for Monster:

Don doesn't remember his second mutation. His last cohesive memory is of driving to April's apartment, and his family aims to keep it that way.

There are three days of Don's life that he knows he _had to have lived_ but can't vouch for, and they are a terrible mystery.

His brothers don't tell him anything. Not when he wakes up to find them watching him, not when he catches them sneaking furtive glances at the still healing wound on his thigh, and not when they adamantly refuse to let him stay at April's place alone.

He's heard Raph say, "When Don was sick…"

He thinks that his family has made a mound out of a molehill.

He feels fine.

Just so, _so_ confused.

He knows that whatever happened had something to do with Bishop, and he knows that it was big enough to involve Leatherhead. He doesn't know if he was kidnapped, tortured, and experimented on, if he was poisoned or drugged, and he doesn't know if his brothers were there with him, or if he was alone.

The uncertainty is starting to tear him up inside. He can feel himself going crazy with worry, and fear, and _not knowing_, and still his brothers won't tell him what happened.

He is a monster in his nightmares.

* * *

I don't really have anything to say about this one. It's going to become the drabble I love to hate, I think. I like it but it's not quite as angsty as I want it to be. Can't you imagine this happening though? I can definitely see the Turtles trying to hide the monster thing from Don, especially after what he went through in SAINW.

Please review! The next installment will be up shortly, as M and N are a story arch of sort. A drabble arch? Hmmmm.


	14. N is for Nightmares

I don't even have words. I think I'm one of those people that only writes when they're bored. I'm on this site everyday reading, but I'm hardly ever bored enough to write. The only reason this got written was because I was in the Frankfurt airport and they had outlets to charge my computer with but no WiFi. Is that horrible?

Disclaimer: In the past few months I've seen more of the world than I had in my entire life, and I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. ML(really)I(s not)A(anymore).

_Italics are nightmares, yo._

* * *

**Nightmare**:

2 minutes ago, Donatello woke up screaming. He's still screaming.

_It's crowded in this space, but he knows that he's the only one in it. Senses it, primal. He feels huge, bigger than whatever he's trapped in and bigger then his own skin even. Something's wrong with his vision, he just can't _see_ anything, not without red everywhere but he can smell _everything _and gods it smells good and he wants it, wants to taste it and rip into it so he grabs and then there's-_

Screaming. A cacophony in four parts.

_and he's got something, he has something in his hands-in his claws? He has claws-and it's soft and it's-_

Mikey. He tried to eat Mikey.

Donatello is a monster in his nightmares, and for The Three Days That Must Not Be Discussed, he was a monster in real life, too.

* * *

Thanks for reading folks, and if you're returning to this little drabble series, I deeply love you, but I make no promises because I'm obviously terrible at keeping them (not in real life, I'm excellent at keeping promises in real life).


	15. O is for Odd

****Y'all, long layovers must be my best friend, because in addition to writing "Nightmare", I also wrote this chapter and the chapters for R and S. I did not, unfortunately, write the chapters for P or Q, and as I refuse to post these out of order, maybe I'll have some incentive to get them written and done with. Hopefully.

I just got back from my trip today, so if I haven't responded to your review yet, I promise I will now that I have the internet at my disposal!

Disclaimer: In the past few days I've met distant cousins, seen the very, very old and crumbly family castle, and almost died at the Cliffs of Moher, but I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. M(Study Abroad)LI(Awesome).

* * *

**Odd:**

Mikey's always been a little odd. It's not really a big _deal_, per say. He's just kind of eccentric.

The problem with knowing and living with all of four people/mutants/beings/goo spawns for the majority of your life is that little differences that wouldn't be considered a big deal in the surface world are basically Grand Canyons carved out of variations of, "I love you, but I don't understand."

It's completely ridiculous that his own quirks are condemned so frequently because Mikey _knows _that everyone is his family is an extreme of one thing or another, and considering that wisdom, inventiveness, determination, and loyalty were all taken, being eccentric verging on surfer really isn't the worst thing he could've turned out to be.

Besides, you don't get to be the Battle Nexus Champion without a little weirdness-and a couple outside factors, like treachery and sabotage- anyway.

* * *

I was overwhelmed and very humbled by the number of reviews I received when I posted the last chapter. I'm so glad that people seem to still be enjoying this old drabble series. Thank you so much! I hope you haven't been disappointed!


	16. P is for Potential

I was feeling a bit nostalgic last night and I snooped through my own profile and story stats for a bit before pulling up my extremely dusty 26 Letters document and seeing, to my immense surprise, that I actually have R and S written! But I realized that I can't post them because I didn't have P or Q written. What a pickle. So today during my 3 hour long class, I wrote this little bugger.

To those of you who've encountered this drabble set before, welcome back. To those of you just getting on this very long ride, bear with me!

**Disclaimer**: Last night, I realized that it had been just over a solid year since I'd updated my most reviewed (over 100! I can't believe it you guys I love you all) story, so I decided to get cracking on that again even though I still don't own the Ninja Turtles. MLIA.

* * *

**Potential**:

Sometimes, on the rare occasion when he has a bit of unadulterated downtime, Leo lets himself think a little too much about his brothers' potential. Not their potential as ninja, oh no. Leonardo knows his brothers' skill sets and limitations as well as and even better than his own. Rather, he considers everything they could be if they weren't forced to live underground. Don't get it wrong; Leo doesn't want to be human. None of them do, really. It's just that during these weird stretches of nothing, normalcy seems so appealing. Leonardo knows that if society accepted the turtles, his brothers could be just about anything.

Donatello: the brilliant, internationally renowned, award winning scientist and innovator. Einstein 2.0, but at least ten times cooler.

Michelangelo: serving openly in the Justice Force, working as a highly sought-after storyboard artist, maybe even a professional skateboarder.

Raphael: opening his own custom bike shop, joining up with Casey and starting a non-profit boxing gym for at risk kids.

They could all be doing so much more than living in the sewers and saving the city from destruction every other month. Not that that isn't important! It's just-Leo wants to travel! He wants to _do_ stuff, like get a degree in philosophy and give lectures or whatever because he is really _so good_ at giving lectures.

Of course, Leo can't do any of those things, none of them can. But they could! And that's what sucks about it all. Potential. So stupid.

* * *

Even though Don is my favorite turtle, I myself am most like Leo. Our boy in blue is pretty collected on the outside, but I have a feeling that he's just your average, earnest teenager on the inside. I tried to make this read a bit like a mental conversation Leo could be having with himself, but I don't know if I achieved that. My writing for fun skills are a bit rusty! Review if you wanna (and you know you wanna)!


	17. Q is for Quagmire

The ball is officially rolling! As I said in my previous note, I already have R and S written. All I needed was Q! I was debating with myself about what word I wanted to write and quagmire hadn't even been on the list until I realized that it's particularly well suited to our beloved TMNT. This one is short but YOLO, I suppose.

**Disclaimer**: I just completed a bachelor's in sociology and the closest thing I have to an income is dog sitting for two of my professors. You can bet your bottom dollar that the turtles aren't mine. I also don't own the dictionary. Shocking.

* * *

**Q is for Quagmire: **

Every time their life course takes them back to the Shredder, Donatello has to actively remind himself to never openly compare their situation to a quagmire. Quagmire, like most words in the nonsensical language known as English, has more than one definition. According to the Webster dictionary, quagmire can be taken to mean both: 1.) soft land that shakes or yields under the foot, and 2.) a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position. It is, by either definition, a word that reflects their situation all too well.

Now before that particular train of thought can derail itself, he knows that the Turtles would never yield under the Foot and that their shells are all but soft. Both of which are facts truly beside his admittedly paranoid point.

Donatello doubts that any of his brothers would notice should his tongue ever slip, but he'll be damned if a single, ridiculous sounding word jinxes his family.

* * *

Quagmire really is an alarmingly relevant word. I can't believe I never noticed it before. Yay learning! Now tell me, loves. What do you think of this teensy drabble?


	18. R is for Reflex

Hey kids! This here is the letter R! I'm not as excited about this chapter as I could be, but I'm very found of S and so I simply had to get this posted.

I suppose this could be the 2K3 OR 2K12 version. Whatever floats your boat!

Disclaimer: I don't have anything clever to say about my not having any ownership of the Ninja Turtles. Whomp whomp.

* * *

**R is for Reflex:**

There is a reason Leonardo isn't allowed to cook, and it's not because kitchen appliances have sworn vengeance upon him.

To put it simply, it's because his reflexes are just too damn good.

For a very short time after the Turtles turned 13, Master Splinter implemented a cooking rotation. Each of the Turtles was to cook dinner at least one night a week, and Master Splinter would cook on the remaining days. This arrangement was made not only to encourage the young ninjas' survival skills, but to also give an aging rat a bit of a rest after a long day supervising the going-ons of four very active boys.

The kitchen rotation was how they discovered that Michaelangelo, for all his natural ability to be a complete goofball at the most inopportune times, is extremely skilled in the kitchen. It was also how they reaffirmed that Raphael's patience is limited to the approximate amount of time it takes water to boil, and that Donatello's more _interesting_ experiments can indeed extend beyond the small portion of the lair known as the "laboratory."

It was also how they realized that Leonardo's commitment to ninjutsu extended far beyond matters of the dojo.

Two weeks into their new cooking routine a knife happened to slip off of the drying rack and instead of jumping away, Leo simply grabbed for it. The knife fell blade down and lodged itself in his unprotected palm.

They didn't have much in those days but everything, particularly bladed objects, was always battle ready.

Leo was lucky that the wound didn't cause permanent damage to the crucial nerves in his palm.

After that incident, the family didn't make Leo cook anymore. At least, not when knives were on the rack.

* * *

Hear me out. I know that Leo is master of blades and whatever now, but as an eager, gangly thirteen year old suddenly responsible for cooking for his entire family? I imagine that the desire to succeed overruled the whole, "whoops I should either let that hit the ground or grab it by the handle" thing.

Let me know what you think!


	19. S is for Subway

Y'all. I graduated from undergrad. I started this series during my first-year. Oh lolz. Spotty updater is spotty.

Disclaimer: I need a job. Owning the Ninja Turtles is not on my resume's current list of accomplishments, nor will it ever be. This will not help me find a job. The vicious cycle!

* * *

**S is for Subway:**

They've watched, felt, and heard hundreds of trains go by, but they've never ridden one.

April and Casey say that the subway is terrible. The cars are crowded and rank with the stench of body odor, and sometimes the homeless person that lives in the corner seat will stare at you or try to play footsie with you or shove their cat in your face, and even though subways are, admittedly, pretty convenient, they simply aren't worth playing involuntary footsie with a homeless person.

It's difficult and a little embarrassing for the Turtles to explain that it's not necessarily the ease or conditions that make riding the subway sound appealing, especially when you consider that the Turtles have a good few methods of fairly nice smelling transport at their disposal. Rather, it is the _normality_ of it all that catches the Turtles' collective interest. Ninjas or not the Turtles are still teenagers, and like most teenagers they want, at least at some level, to fit in.

Teenagers in New York ride the subway all the time. The Turtles haven't ridden it once.

It's just one more difference to add to an already staggering list.

* * *

I've been intentionally withholding this because I'm an awful person. Bwahahahah! But at the very least I got it up before I go out of town for two weeks!

I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out. Let me know what you think!


End file.
